Electric railway.



No. 783,028. PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

v I J. DELA MAR.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9 1904.

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UNITED STATES Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH DELA MAR, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MATHIAS A. LAZAREFF, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,028, dated February 21, 1905.

Application filed June 9, 1904. Serial No. 211,738.

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH DELA MAR, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Electric Railway, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in electric railways, and especially to the type in which a third rail or other hollow conductor is carried along the track and is provided with an inner main conductor and in which the current is cut into and out of the third rail as the train moves along, the live portion of the rail being only that part which is opposite the moving train.

My present invention has no reference to any particular form of rail-conductor or switch mechanism, but relates particularly to the shoe or collector, which moves along the rail and actuates the switch mechanism and at the same time carries the current to the motor.

The object of my invention is to produce a shoe which shall move very easily along the third rail with the least possible friction and which will serve to actuate the switches nec: essary to cut the'current in and out. My invention is also intended to provide for the side sway or movement of the car as it goes along the track.

To these ends my invention consists of certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a cross-section of a third-rail system and shows my improved apparatus in connection therewith. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, on the line2 2 of Fig. 1, of the shoe or collector; and Fig. 3 is a detail sectional elevation of a modification of the device.

In Fig. 1 1 have shown a cross-section of a housing or third rail 10, which has a top 11, triangular in cross-section and within which is a conductor 12, which rests on suitable insulation 13 and is normally out of contact with the rail 10. Moving transversely through the rail is a switch-arm 14, which has a dc- 5 pending wedge-shaped lug 15, adapted to move in the slot 16 of the conductor 12, and so when the switch-arm is moved in one direction the current passes from the conductor through the switch-arm and into the rail 10,

while the opposite movement cuts the rail out of circuit.

I have shown the above as a simple means of illustrating my invention; but I do not claim here any novelty for the structure just described, and, on the other hand, I do not limit my invention to such structure, because the mechanism which I am about to describe can be used with any suitable rail or housing,

its internal conductor, and laterally-moving 5 switch mechanism to cut the rail in and out.

As shown, the shoe or collector has a plate 17, which fits the top 11, and its shape corre sponds with the shape of the top, and obviously if the top 11 were of different shape 7 the plate 17 would also be shaped to correspond. The plate 17 collects the current from the rail 10, and a portion of the current may also pass through the rods 22, hereinafter described. which is vertically adjustable in the block 19, which latter maybe any suitable support, and this block moves laterally on a rod 20, which projects from the side of the car, connecting with the car in any suitable way, while a nut 30 21 or similar device prevents the block 19 from sliding off the rod 20. Depending from the block 19 are also the rods 22, which are arranged on opposite sides of the block center,

so that one may be in advance of the other, 5

the said rod 22 depending from the block 19 95 and having a head 25, and rods 26, as in Fig. 3, may be made to slide laterally through it to provide for the sway of the car, each rod hav- The plate is supported by a rod 18,

The rods 22 and 18 are all held in the 9 ing a bent end 27, carrying a roller 24 to engage the rail side, as already described. In this case a spring 28, arranged between the head 25 and a'nut 29 on the rod 26, takes up the motion of the rod.

It will be seen that as the shoe or collector moves along the rail the arm 1 1 will be moved laterally by one of the rollers 24 and the rail 10 cut into or out of circuit with the conduetor 12.

The structure shown is adapted to move very easily along the rail and can be easily adapted to rails of different Form.

Having thus fully described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In an electric railway, the shoe or collector comprising a contact-plate suitably supported and oppositely -arranged rods having rollers thereon, said rollers being arranged on opposite sides of the contact-plate and in different vertical planes.

2. In an electric railway, the shoe or collector, comprising a block or hanger supported in a way to permit a lateral adjustment with relation to the rail, and depending oppositelybent rods secured to the hanger and adapted to straddle the rail, the said rods carrying rollers at their lower ends which are arranged to run on opposite sides of a contact-rail. 3

3. An apparatus of thekind described, comprising a block or hanger, a contactplate carried thereby, and depending rods supported from the block or hanger and extending to opposite sides of the contact-plate, the said 35 rods having rollers at their lower ends.

4. A device of the kind described, comprising a block or hanger supported so as to have a lateral movement, a contact-plate carried by the block or hanger, and depending rods eX- 4 tendingto opposite sides of the block or hanger and provided with rollers adapted to run along opposite sides of a contact-rail.

JOSEPH DELA MAR.

Vitnesses:

WARREN B. I-IU'rcHINsoN, MA'rHIAs A. LAZAREFF. 

